Mercedes-Benz W198 buyer's guide

The 300SL — Gullwing and Roadster, the founding icons of the marque.

Years: 1954–1963 · Models: 300SL Gullwing (1954–1957), 300SL Roadster (1957–1963)

Overview

The 300SL was the fastest production car of its day: a racing car civilised for the road, with a spaceframe chassis, direct fuel injection — a production first — and, on the coupe, the gullwing doors the frame's deep sills made necessary. 1,400 Gullwings and 1,858 Roadsters were built, 29 of the coupes with alloy bodies. It is the most valuable series in this collection by an order of magnitude, and the market is correspondingly forensic about identity.

Engines

The 3.0-litre M198 six with direct mechanical fuel injection, producing 215 horsepower in the Gullwing (more in the Roadster's later tune).

What to check

• Identity before everything: engine, chassis, body, and gearbox numbers against the factory records, and the car's documented history — a 300SL's paperwork is a major part of its price.
• The direct-injection pump and system, whose rebuild is specialist work; verify starting, running, and oil condition.
• Originality of the details the market prices: Rudge centre-lock wheels where fitted, belly pans, fitted luggage, correct lights and trim.
• The spaceframe and body for accident repair — on the alloy cars above all, where panels are effectively irreplaceable.
• Whether a Gullwing is one of the 29 alloy-bodied cars, which is a value category of its own and must be proven by records, not claimed.

Values

Alloy Gullwings stand at the top; steel Gullwings follow, then Roadsters, with documented, matching-numbers, factory-colour cars leading each group. Provenance — competition history, famous ownership, unbroken records — moves prices in ways specification cannot.

Buying tips

This is a market for marque historians and marque specialists: engage both before bidding, and treat any gap in a car's documented identity as a pricing fact, not a detail. At auction, the estimate is the beginning of the research, not the end.

See the 22 W198 cars currently listed.